Long Beach police plan DUI checkpoint tonight

The Long Beach Police Department's Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint tonight.

The DUI checkpoint will be conducted in the East Patrol Division from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday, according to an LBPD press release. The exact location of the checkpoint wasn't provided.

According to police officials, over the past three years DUI collisions have claimed 14 lives and resulted in 305 injury crashes, harming 417 people in Long Beach.

In California, DUI-related accidents caused 791 deaths. Alcohol and drug-impaired deaths still make up the largest category of overall vehicle fatalities in 2010 with 29 percent of all deaths caused by a drunk driver, officials said.

A DUI checkpoint is a proven effective method to lower these numbers, police said.

Officers tonight will also check that drivers have valid licenses. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

Police officials said that a DUI and drug-impaired arrest can cost up to $10,000, including time in jail, the loss of a driver's license and high insurance rates.

The Long Beach DUI enforcement efforts are funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.